In The Ranks of Death You Will Find Him
by turbomagnus
Summary: En route to Cardassia Prime for the final battle of the Dominion War, O'Brien takes a moment to look up someone he knows.
1. In The Ranks of Death You Will Find Him

Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental _multi-fandom_ project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. For more details, see the relevent section in my profile. This is The 365 Project, 12 May.

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

Sorry, but considering it only appeared for about one episode and lacked the ablative armor and Romulan cloaking device, I won't be referring to the ship as the _Defiant_ \- it will be the _Sao Paulo_. It was really just cheap for them to give the DS9 crew a new ship, same class and permission to rename it '_Defiant_', for just one episode since it weakened any emotional impact of the actual _Defiant_'s loss.

Disclaimer: Paramount, CBS, et cetera own Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and all associated characters, locations and situations. Said characters and situations are being used without permission or intent to profit, merely for entertainment purposes.

* * *

-o0O0o-

"...In The Ranks Of Death You Will Find Him..."  
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0O0o-

* * *

"The Minstrel Boy to the war has gone; in the ranks of death you will find him; his father's sword he has girded on and his wild harp slung behind him. 'Land of song', said the warrior-bard; 'Though all the world betrays thee; one sword, at least, thy rights shall guard; one faithful harp shall praise thee'."

"I'm not gonna win this one, am I, Chief?"

"No, sir." - Chief Miles O'Brien and Captain Benjamin Maxwell, TNG: 'The Wounded'.

* * *

-o0o-

As the combined Alpha Quadrant fleet - now including the Cardassian forces that had turned on the Dominion after the bombing of Lakarian City - set course for Cardassia Prime and hopefully the final battle with the Dominion forces, Captain Benjamin Sisko looked around the bridge of the U.S.S. _Sao Paulo._

"Something wrong, Chief?" he asked one of the officers.

"No... yes... Maybe, I don't know," Chief Petty Officer Miles O'Brien answered.

"Well, that just about covers all the options," Ensign Nog muttered, earning the young Ferengi officer a stern look from Sisko.

"What is it, Miles?" Sisko asked again.

O'Brien looked over his shoulder at Sisko, "You think there would be any problems with me making a call, Captain? If the Cardies... the Cardassians _are _on our side now, there's something I want to know."

"We've got an hour at full impulse before we reach Cardassia Prime, Chief," Sisko nodded, "I suggest you talk fast."

O'Brien nodded back and returned his attention to his station as he entered commands, "Cardassian command ship, this is Chief Miles O'Brien on the U.S.S. _De_\- the U.S.S. _Sao Paulo_."

He still wasn't used to being on a different ship, even if it was the same class.

"This is Gul Ocett of the warship _Galinor_, Cardassian fleet, Tenth Order," a female Cardassian in military uniform appeared on O'Brien's viewscreen, "It would appear that my ship is the 'Cardassian command ship' you wish to communicate with. What is it you want?"

"I wanted to find out about a Cardassian officer I know," O'Brien answered, "His name's Daro, he was a Glinn on the _Tragar _about eight, nine years ago."

Ocett inclined her head, "Interesting, a Starfleet officer inquiring after a Cardassian Glinn considering that officially our peoples are still at war."

"Yeah, well, it's an interesting galaxy," O'Brien shot back, "How about it?"

"The _Tragar_ is a ship of the First Order, but I am familiar with it," Ocett answered, "Macet and his crew are loyal to Cardassia, not the Dominion. They are also members of the Liberation. Unfortunately, the survivors of the First, Third and Ninth Orders from the battle of Rondac III have not yet been able to rejoin the forces of the true, _free_ Cardassia. If we are fortunate, they will reach Cardassia Prime in time to lend their ships to our cause once more."

"That's great," O'Brien responded, "Really, it's great, but Daro?"

"At the last communique from Gul Macet... Glinn Daro remained alive and serving as his first officer," Ocett replied, "Does that satisfy your curiousity, Chief O'Brien?"

"Actually, it does," O'Brien's lips quirked up in a slight smile, "Anything else will have to wait until after we've dealt with your homeworld's little Dominion problem."

"Then you will forgive me if I see to my own ship and crew in the meantime," Ocett abruptly ended the transmission leaving O'Brien looking at a screen displaying the United Federation of Planets seal.

"No matter the situation with the Cardassians," O'Brien shook his head, "Some things never change. They wouldn't know how to hang up politely if it bit them."

"So, who's Glinn Daro?" Nog asked from the helm.

O'Brien turned to shoot the Ferengi a quick glare for his eavesdropping, "Someone I owe a drink that's almost ten years overdue, that's all you need to know, Ensign."


	2. No Chains Shall Sully Thee

Disclaimer: "Star Trek", "Deep Space Nine", and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS Studios and Gene Roddenberry Productions and are used for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.

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-o0O0o-

"...No Chains Shall Sully Thee"  
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0O0o-

* * *

In another part of the city, a Starfleet Captain refused the Klingon Chancellor's toast... But that was in another part of the city, where the Dominion surrender was being accepted...

"Setlik in reverse," Chief Petty Officer Miles O'Brien muttered to himself as he crouched to pick up a piece of bent and twisted metal from the ruins that had once been the so-called 'Ministry of Justice', "I guess the old saying is right, 'As ye sow, so shall ye reap'."

His Cardassian companion who had remained standing nodded before before speaking softly, "If the translators are functioning so that I understand your meaning properly, I believe my response would be that it's a bloody harvest indeed."

O'Brien scoffed as he stood up, "War always is."

"It appears that your hatred for we Cardassians has been proven justified," the Cardassian Glin observed, "The Union would have simply taken the upper hand on the Dominion and crushed them in it had we been the ones attacking an enemy homeworld; your Alliance allowed them to surrender and is even working to ensure the Founders' survival. As soon as it seemed my people were moving away from conquest and oppression, Dukhat pulled us back to that path and we did very little to resist until discovering that we ourselves were the ones being conquered and oppressed."

"That doesn't mean I was justified - or right," O'Brien replied, "I won't deny that some Cardassians I'll always hate - Dukhat's a good example, I don't think anyone from DS-Nine would give up the chance to kill him with our bare hands if we had it - but hating all of you?"

O'Brien tossed the piece of metal he was holding back down into the rubble, "That's just a good way to end up right back here. And it's not like all of you deserve it, either. If I went back to hating all of you, I'd have to start hating people like Garak - and Ziyal, even if she's dead - and I don't want to do that. I just want to move on with my life and start living again. The Cardassians, the Borg, the Dominon, the Klingons, I'm tired of fighting, tired of hating, tired of spending all of my time watching myself to make sure I don't cross that line..."

"I cannot speak for the Borg and the Klingons, but those of us who survived in the Cardassian Union will have more pressing concerns for the foreseeable future," Daro gestured at the city around them with his hand.

"Yeah, but what happens in the unforeseeable future?" O'Brien asked derisively.

"I suspect," Daro answered, "That after being on the recieving end of conquest and devastation, we will not be so quick to mete it out to others."

The human scoffed, "I'll believe that when the next Dukhat shows up and gets told to take a hike."

"I doubt you'll argue if I say that your doubtfulness has been justified by these last years," Daro conceded.

"That I wouldn't argue with," O'Brien agreed, clapping a friendly hand on the Cardassian's shoulder, an action that at one time would have been unthinkable, "Come on, I think I still owe you a drink."


End file.
